WONDER'FULLY REAL FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

If you've wandered past a Rimmel stand in the last few days you'd be hard pushed to ignore the bright pink packaging of the Wonder'fully Real Mascara. My mascara collection is rather highend but back in the day I loved drugstore mascara and I'm trying to rekindle that love. I have included an image below of before an after. 

My natural lashes are not short my any means and there is a generous amount of them however they do need a lift. People have different needs from a mascara, mine are usually something that gives volume and keeps fullness. I feel like this mascara did a good job of lifting my lashes and elongating them. However I do feel like this mascara has the potential to get a little spidery, purely because it separates the lashes so much. The wand of the mascara is very short and plastic so it is made to coat every lash. I love how it looks in my outer corner but there are parts where I feel they're looking a little clumpy or a little spidery. Another aspect I'm not fond of is the consistency I prefer a more dry formulation, this is very watery. This can be problematic for me as I have oily skin, which often causes mascara transfer on my brow bone or eyelid. The wetter the formulae the more often I see this occur. So that's just a side note for my oily girls.

This review is sounding a little negative and that's really not my intention because I don't think it is at all a bad mascara. It simply isn't to my taste. I regularly use Better than Sex by Too Faced purely because of formulation and I feel it works best for my eyelashes. This mascara is polar opposite to that which doesn't make it bad it just makes it different. For £6.99 I don't think its a bad buy, especially if your looking for something that lengthens and separates. I won't be discarding it or passing it on, I will continue to use it and match it up with my other mascaras in attempt make it work for me. Who knows in a few weeks when the formulation has dried out a bit I may even love this mascara.

JULYS MAKEUP HAUL

I'm a little late on posting this seen as though we are basically at the end of august, but don't let my poor organisation skills detract from the beautiful items that I purchased. This month we have a little bit of drug store and little high end. Brands include, Rimmel, Becca, Too Faced and Marc Jacobs. I want to kick start this review with the drugstore items and one of my favourite affordable brands Rimmel. I've seen the Kate Rimmel sculpting palette in stores for a while now but for one reason or another I never got around to buying it. That is obviously until now. I've been wearing this to work for pretty much a week solid. I really love the bronzer and I find the blush compliments it very well. I'm not too fussed on the highlight I find it a little weak for my tastes and it's a little light for my complexion. The major criticism of this palette would be the size. I wish that it was bigger, I really want to swirl a big fluffy blush in that bronzer with out dipping into the other two pans. However so far so good.

The other rimmel product I purchased is the Insta Duo Contour stick. I pretty much bought this for the dark cream contour shade, as I like the shape of the product. I think it will be perfect for precise contouring for example the nose. I'm a little bit blah about the highlight I wish it was just a lighter almost concealer shade instead of shimmery. I can't go into great detail as I haven't got around to trying it out yet. Before you get mardy I've been at work all week and I'm not about to contour for work. Ain't nobody got time for that.

My obsession at the moment is this Marc Jacobs High-Shine lip lacquer in the shade skin deep. It's a beautiful mauve barely there shade. I have had so many compliments about this when I've worn it. I love everything about this product from its applicator and packaging to its shade and consistency. Just a word of warning it's pretty pricey for a lipgloss I paid around $28 in Sephora. In my opinion worth every penny but I know that it is an ridiculous amount to pay for a lip product.

Another sephora purchase was a travel size Becca shimmering skin perfecter. I have been enjoying this product and its pretty but it reminds me of a lot of other liquid highlights that I own. I think considering Becca is usually hard to come by in the UK there are other equally as good alternative with similar colours and pay offs. For example this reminds me of Stilla's liquid highlight and Nars 413 illuminator. Verdict pretty but not revolutionary. However anyone wanting to purchase Cult beauty do stock Becca.

Saved the best for last. This is a repurchase of Too Faced's Better than sex mascara. I have the full sized and the water proof version of this but every time I come back to the travel sized one. I don't know why I just prefer the dainty brush. This mascara separates, lifts and adds volume to my lashes. It is honestly my holy grail, I have fallen in love with this product. Finding another mascara to knock it off its top position is going to be a hard task. So the conclusion of this post is if you are going to buy any of these the two stand out pieces are Too Faced's better than sex and the Marc Jacobs gloss! It's not often I find products that I flat out love and recommend whole heatedly so you know they have to be good!

THE COLOURFUL SIDE OF LONDON

I had to do a second post on my London trip because I love the edgy boho side of the city and I just wanted to share these photos with you. We had a wander down a tunnel filled with graffiti near Waterloo and I just couldn't resist the photo opportunity. I do love colourful graffiti and it's always a great backdrop for photos. Lord knows if I lived closer this would be one of my daily spots for fashion photography. After the quick photoshoot we got the tube to Camden town, had a mooch around the market and wandered around for ages trying to decided which delicious food to eat. I ended up having Pulled pork noodles which were scrummy. We did a little light shopping and I took a million photos, so here's some of the photos that made the cut.

LONDON IN A DAY

I've been to London once before but  I didn't do any of the touristy things, we went purely for the shopping. This time around I tried to crush in as much as I could into six hours, obviously I haven't even began to scratch the surface. London has so many different personalities, it can shift from classy to hippy in a tube stop. I have to say I'm partial to either. We started off in Paddington station and pretty much got around by tube. I really hate the tube but it is essential for travel around London especially if you are in a hurry. We had a little walk around Leister square and then moved on to Covent Garden where we had lunch. I only had a chicken and bacon sandwich but look how yummy it looks. So if you are in Covent garden I recommend Davy's wine merchants. I managed to cram in Leister square, china town, Covent garden,Trafalgar square, Westminster and Camden. It was a rush and my feet are very sore but I had such a lovely day. I'm just going to leave it as that and pop my photos in.

BLISSFUL BIBURY

The next destination on my adventure in the south is Bibury, which is a very picturesque village in Gloucestershire. It's part of the national trust and I'm pretty sure its clear as to why. So we arrived here at about two in the afternoon and after the discovery I had forgotten my sd card we did a quick u-turn and went to Cirencester in search of a store. It wouldn't be a day in my life if there was not some small kind of disaster. Usually I wouldn't be too upset about that kind of small mishap but I couldn't bare the thought of not photographing this amazing place. It reminds me of the hobbit, just because everything is so small and quaint. The shot above and below is of Arlington Row, these were built in 1380  but converted into weavers cottages in the 17th century. Its one of the most photographed scenes in the Cotswold's and its not hard to see why. 

The weather has been really lovely today, we've been really lucky the entire trip the only time it has rained has been during the night. We  made the most of the sun and had a little stroll around the town,  we even went to the trout farm. I wasn't too sure on feeding the trouts, they swarm as soon as food hits the water. They were thrashing all over the place, it reminded me a bit of piranhas. I'm not sure what would happen if you fell in... bares even thinking about! The farm itself was very pretty to walk around full of nice plants and trees, I enjoyed that a lot more than the terrifying trout. 

If anyone is curious my top and jeans are from misguided. Not trying to turn this into a fashion post but I bloody love this top. It was twenty Two quid and I'll link it here. 

Back to the place itself, I had a quick look around the grounds of the local church purely because this cute little sign caught my attention. For some reason It had me singing 'were going to the chapel and we're gonna get married' over and over in my brain. My brain works in weird ways. This was actually the gates to the grave yard, which was beautifully kept, its really odd to say but there is something so peaceful about a grave yard... well during the daylight anyway.

The church was lovely from the outside and was right next to a very quaint school. I love this path way with the roses either side, when they are in full bloom its would be magical. I'm getting serious wedding vibes from this place. Don't panic Nath not my own. I think I've fallen in love with this little village, it seems like the most perfect place on earth. Every ones house is beautiful, the gardens are taken care off and there's not one piece of litter in sight. It almost doesn't seem like a real place or that anyone would live here. One things for certain I am eternally jealous of those that do. 

WESTON SUPER MARE

Today's little adventure took place in Weston Super Mare. The weather was bright and of course on a sunny day you have to partake in the most British of all customs; going to the coast, having fish and chips and pretending that it's a lot warmer than it actually is. The thing about the seaside as we so quaintly call it is that they are basically all the same. Weston Super Mare is pretty much the southern equivalent of Blackpool.  Is Blackpool northern? It's certainly more north than Weston anyway.  My geography is a little to be desired.  Only difference that the weather was better. It had the usual trademarks of a seaside town, Ferris wheel, roller coasters, sweet shops, ice cream and fish shops. The pinnacle of British culture. 

We obviously had fish and chips on the pier and sat outside and then moaned continuously about the influx of seagulls. Numerous references to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds were made whilst the smell of vinegar lingered in your nostrils. It always scares me that if seagulls were a little bit more intelligent and decided to work in a pack to mob you, we wouldn't stand a chance. The food was a bit naff if I'm honest, we waited about 20 minuets in a queue and it really wasn't worth while.

After we had a stroll along the beachfront, we decided to have a gander at the sand sculptures. It's corny but you have to appreciate the effort that goes into these sculptures. I don't think I could put my heart and soul into a creation to know that it would soon crumble into a heap. I only took a few photos of the ones that I personally liked. My favourite has to be the elephant and the tortoise but that's just because I find it cute. Not exactly a cultural awakening but it was a pleasant day out and we got to enjoy the sun for the short time its here. 

MAKING OVER MINI ME.

Millie, 12 : Swindon 

This is just a little bit of fun between cousins, before I get any ranty comments about making over a 12 year old. We got bored and decided to play with some makeup. I'm calling her my mini me for this makeover because we look similar and this is one of my go to looks! 

For the base we went for a very glowy foundation Dior Forever in shade 11, paired with plenty of liquid highlight by Becca and a bronzed glow with my Revolution bronzer. Eyebrows were filled in at the from with MACs eyebrow pencil in the shade Delineated and filled out further with MACs brow cream in ash blonde, the tail was then filled in with ABH dip brow in taupe. Eyes were created with the ABH modern Renaissance palette. Warm taupe was added to the crease and then blended out with the shades burnt orange and raw sienna. Finally I applied Primavera all over the lid and added the Kat Von D liquid eyeliner. To finish it off we added Marc Jacobs hi-shine lipgloss in skin deep. 

STAYIN' DOWN SOUTH

I don't often do day to day posts on my blog purely because I don't often do anything note worthy. But I'm staying with family in the south which isn't something that is a regular occurrence, so I thought why not blog about it.  This trip has already taught me that I should not be allowed to book train tickets... I'm travelling with my grandad and although he lives in Durham and we are travelling south, I booked the tickets from Newcastle... So we essentially travelled north to go south. When we got to Newcastle on Sunday and picked up our tickets we realised that we did not have any seats booked, which meant that my 83 year old grandad and I had to fight our way to the front of the queue and scour cabins for spare seats. We finally found some free seats together; but I'm not gonna lie it was like a military operation securing those seats, I felt a little bit flustered. The rest of the journey went without a hitch and we arrived in Cheltenham and were greeted by my auntie and cousin. We had a quiet night on Sunday, drank some vino and reminisced.

Today we went to the Outlet village in Swindon, mainly because I wanted to go to the Cosmetic Company and stock up on some makeup. Keep an eye out for a blog post on my purchases. We did some light shopping and had a bite to eat at Giraffe. I really enjoyed my Katsu Noodles and I have a soft spot for any drink served in a mason jar, they will forever be cute. My grandad however was not so fussed with his steak and chips. In his opinion proper chips are not thin and they should have spent less time on the fancy menu and more time making the food taste better. The verdict on the food created a small momentary divide in the family, but then as you do became the running joke of the day. Differing palettes aside we had a pleasant day of chit chat and I picked up some real bargains.

Plans for tomorrow I think are the beach so hopefully the weather is good and I'll document the entire thing. I'm just going to leave you with a photo of my family, because I'm running out of things to say and I need sleep. < Mainly because a house alarm went off from 6am - 12am  yesterday and disturbed my slumber. Stay tuned for more information on the comedy of errors that is my life!

HOTEL DU VIN NEWCASTLE

The other half and I had a few weeks off work together recently and we basically made it our duty to to do as much as possible together. We value our alone time as it's not often something we get. This time off included, a weekend in Rome, cinema dates, netflix binge's, meals out together and a romantic mid week stay in the toon. I was so impressed with the hotel in Newcastle that we stayed in, I wanted to share it with you guys. If you are looking for a lovers getaway in a swanky hotel then look no further than Hotel Du Vin. 

We booked a superior double room, this came with a Queen sized bed, chaise lounge, rain fall shower and free standing bath. If a chaise lounge and a free standing bath IN your bedroom doesn't have sex appeal I don't know what does.  I kid you not I felt like we were in an apartment not a hotel room. I've stayed in some swanky hotels and honestly most rooms you can barely swing a cat in. I hate that phrase but it gets the point across. I could swing a giraffe around in this room. Scouts honour. Not only that but the room was so tastefully decorated, the bare brick walls are so up my street that I seriously want them as a design feature in my own home. The colour scheme is so sophisticated, it almost seems to have a mood of its own. 

But lets talk about my favourite part; The bath. I confess that this was the lure to this hotel, I always judge a hotel on the quality of it's bathroom and it's toiletries. ps the toiletries were divine, sorry for stealing them. I love a good bath, I love a freestanding bath more. This is honestly such a romantic touch, a glass of champers and a soak together in here wouldn't go a miss. As you can tell I brought a little something from lush with me to make it all bubbly. It would be an unjust to this bath not to prepare it to it's full potential. So I spent a portion of the night soaking it up and pampering myself before a night on the tiles with my other half. The only disappointing part of this room was the lack of facility to do my makeup. There was one long mirror but no lighting around it, and I had to get ready in the bathroom which isn't great when its very humid in there. Just food for thought. However I was impressed that there was aircon, very few british hotels have it and it was a welcomed extra. 

The hotel itself is also very beautifully decorated, with lovely touches like log burners and outside the smoking area has a hut named the cigar shack. It also had an onsite restaurant that I hear is highly rated and not too badly priced, although we did not eat in, the dining area looked beautiful and elegant. I also passed a couple having afternoon tea and it contained candy floss... This place just has the perfect mixture of sophistication, good taste and quirkiness. Each member of staff we encountered were wonderful from the gentleman who checked us in who was pleasant and funny, to the bar man who kept us chatting till late into the evening. I can not sing this places praises enough, we will be returning hopefully for bank holiday weekend and I urge you to check it out too.  If your interested heres the link to there site, there are other locations although I highly recommend Newcastle! https://www.hotelduvin.com

LADUREE PARIS

The last time I was in Paris I was thirteen and I had no appreciation for anything fancy and had no idea what a macaron was. The nearest store is in London and seen as though I live up north and its a good six hour drive it doesn't seem quite worth a trip. So when I stumbled upon a Laduree whilst walking to the Spanish steps in Rome, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase some famous macarons.

Can we just appreciate how beautiful the window display is. The colour palette is right up my street, and I guess you could say that this is one of my attractions to this brand. I am a sucker for packaging, yes I wanted the delicious treats but I also wanted to keep the beautiful box and bag. 

I only purchased a small box that fits two macarons in. Mainly because I wanted to eat them straight away and I was pretty sure they wouldn't survive the journey home. I chose this gorgeous pink box with the beautiful gold Laduree logo on the front. I will proudly be placing this on my dresser along with the gorgeous pea green bag. Choosing a flavour was very daunting mainly because there were so many and that they all looked so good. Finally I settled on Champagne and strawberry candy, I have too say that they were as tasty as they looked. I am hoping that on my trip to London in a few weeks time I can get a bigger box and try more of the flavours! I'm a little sad that I didn't get a salted caramel one because it looked to yummy! So keep your eyes peeled for more Laduree posts and if you have any flavour suggestions please let me know!

SUPER AFFORDABLE MAKEUP HAUL

Now and then I have brief moments where I decide not to be a makeup snob and try some affordable makeup. I am under no illusions, I know that drugstore makeup can be equally as good (sometimes better) than high end. The only reason I often don't buy it, is because I like to feel like I'm treating myself when I buy cosmetics. Basically pretty packaging and designer names get the better of me. Secondly I am a creature of habit and when I find a brand that works for me I gravitate towards it. Thirdly I sometimes forget how much the drugstore makeup world has progressed. In the last couple of years the drugstore just seems to be going from strength to strength in terms of innovation and quality. I certainly think there are some great stuff on the shelves comparable to high end labels, if not giving them a run for their money.    

I was in superdrug picking up some toiletries for my holiday and I ended up browsing the makeup isle. If I dare say it, Superdrug isn't somewhere I often shop, so I was rather curious about the brands they stocked. Obviously I am no stranger to Makeup Revolution, I haven't been living under a rock. In the past I have always been impressed by their powders, I own a few of their palettes and one of their dare I say it 'knock off' TooFaced shimmery bronzers. I happened to be in the market for a new matte bronzer as my TooFaced one has hit pan. I was no where near a TooFaced stockist so I decided to just five the Makeup revolution ultra bronze a go. Mainly because it was three quid, so I didn't have much too loose. So far I'm pleasantly surprised, it's definitely worth the three pound that's for sure. I find it apply's well, no patchiness and I don't mind the colour it's not too orange. I do wish it was a little bit more cool toned but I can live with it. Worth every penny and I'm totally going to repurchase. Side note I think its perfect for going on holiday because you wouldn't have to worry about whether its going to get damaged and its very complimentary to a tan.

The Next product I was sceptical about because I haven't heard of the brand and the price point was very cheap. #ProArtist had a range of products from primers, contour, bronzers and eye makeup. I ended up just picking up an eyeshadow that was two quid. I liked this product because I would slip straight into my palette and of course because it was outrageously cheap. Expectations were not ridiculously high on this product but I was actually shocked on how creamy these were. I found the consistency really impressive for the price point. When i swatched the shadow it really clung to the skin and had great longevity. The colour pay off is more on the sheer side, but on a holiday this would be a great all over the lid, quick makeup eyeshadow. I really loved the shimmer on this shade and will be popping back to pick up a few more colours and see if they follow suit. 

 I have had my beady little eyes on these since they launched. I swatched just about all the colours and left them for a good 7 hours. I then got in the shower and I scrubbed the shit out of my hands, and all I have to say is that the Rimmel stay Matter liquid lip colour is industrial. Girls if you're going for cocktails and will possibly be too intoxicated to do a touch up, don't worry Rimmel's gotcha back. I picked up Latte to Go and Mocha. I'm a bit concerned that Latte to Go is gonna be a little light on my skin tone, but I love the shades. To combat the paleness of latte to go I picked up a lip liner from Nyx in the shade sandstorm because I think it will compliment it very well, but only time will tell. These retail for around £6.00 and at the moment at boots they are buy one get one half price (offer was available on the 5.8.17). I plan to basically get every shade of these, I have fallen in love with them from first swatch. Is that a thing.. love at first swatch. The only shade I'm hesitant on is the grey shade... I think its amazing but I'm not sure I have the balls to rock it or pull it off. I've put in a couple swatches below, first is Latte to go and the last Mocha. Would love to here if you guy's like these as much as me or if you have any other liquid lips recommendations!

VILLA BORGHESE - A SMALL PIECE OF PARADISE

I teased about this beautiful place in my last post and I'm sure that now you can see why I have waited to dedicate an entire post to Villa Borghese. It's hard to imagine that within the bustling city there is this little piece of peace and tranquillity. The moment we booked Rome, I began my research and stumbled on a pinterest post about a romantic lake hidden in the city. On our last day it was our mission to walk here and find the lake within the villa Borghese gardens. We walked around the park itself for almost two hours until we finally arrived here, but in all honesty there was so much more too see we only scratched the surface.

The city had been an exciting adventure but as a true country girl I really longed for a quiet moment and a peaceful stroll away from bumping shoulders with strangers and people standing  on my toes. So far Rome had its moments of romance but most of the time it was map reading, busy traffic and trying to figure out crossing the road without being flattened. Walking for multiple hours in the heat does bring the occasional crossed word and the fact that neither of us knew how to really navigate a map did not help with tension. So strolling through the park hand in hand just having a chance to chat and reflect was just what the doctor ordered. As I looked around the few people that were here also seemed to have been charmed by its romantic scenery, it was definitely a place for a lovers stroll.

After admiring the beauty and taking a couple snaps we decided to take a boat ride which was only a few euro each. I was rather excited that the little lake was full of turtles, Rome had not provided me with any animals to coo over so this was a good opportunity. It was very relaxing just basking in the sun having a chin wag and taking some photos in the idyllic setting. We had almost forgot where we were, it was such a contrast from the bustling streets. I feel so fortunate that we got to spend a beautiful day here together, I think its something I will never forget. A definite must if you visit Rome and just want a little break from the hustle and bustle, it takes a little finding but its a manageable walk from the city centre. I honestly don't think its something you should miss.